Silly Me

I didn’t finish explaining why last week was so busy. After the zoo on Thursday, we went to a mom’s group meeting on Friday, then the supermarket, where a man told me that I can have Fiona surgically removed (because I was carrying her in my ERGO). On Saturday we went to a barbeque and spent more time with my mom’s group friends and ate too much. I can honestly say I left with a full stomach. I have not felt full (not hungry) in a long, long time. We read a book about a princess who is afraid of the monster under her bed. She learns that the thing under the bed is friendly when it gives her a kitten. Then she eats the thing and the kitten and she and her teddy bear make a fort out of the leftover bones. Definitely the most disturbing children’s story I’ve read.

On Sunday we spent lots of time at home and I made more solid food for Fiona. On the menu this week are apple sauce, sweet potatoes, green peas, yams, and corn. And maybe a little avocado again. So far, Fiona has liked everything I’ve tried to feed her, including the melange of yellow squash, apple sauce, oatmeal cereal, and breast milk. She also liked the zucchini I fed her last week. She now gets two solids a day, one in the morning and one at dinner time.

I think her first tooth is finally coming in.

Here are some random photos:

 

 

She always looks so big to me, then I see a photo and remember that she is still very small.

Oh, and sleep training is a big failure. I tried to dream feed her and she woke up too early two nights in a row. Last night I fed her at 10:30, she ate at 12:45, and then not again until 5am. Before I tried to dream feed her, she ate at 11:30 and 3 (approximately). I think she just has to make her own schedule and I will not be sleeping more than a few hours at a time for months and months to come. Wish me luck tonight. If it doesn’t work (eating at 10:30 and 2:30, I am abandoning the plan forever). At least she goes to bed when she should.

Busy Week

It’s been a busy week for us. On Monday we went to mom’s group meeting and spent most of the day there. On Tuesday we went for a walk and wound up at our friend Jacob’s house. His mom Janci just finished making really yummy cupcakes. On Thursday we went to the zoo.

I had a great time feeding the giraffe:

  

This is what Fiona was doing:

She woke up soon after and I carried her in the ERGO. Here we are with Elizabeth and Ryder. Ryder was Fiona’s sunglasses, hat, and binky twin:

We saw the gorillas. This one thinks he is Mr. GQ:

Fiona and I taking “family” photos:

The condors were out enjoying the sun and spreading their wings:

Penguins are always cute:

Elephants:

Flamingos:

Fiona was asleep again at this point.

Capibaras:

And who can forget the cute little otters:

 

We ended the day at the gift shop, where I purchased two puppets for Fiona, one of a meerkat and one of an otter. I have been looking for good puppets for a long time. They are so cute I can’t wait until she is old enough to appreciate them. Right now, she just wants to chew on the meerkat’s nose.

All in all it was a wonderful day. We met some of my mom’s group friends at the gate and spent about 4 hours enjoying the zoo. It was not crowded at all. Fiona had one minor meltdown in the car because she was tired, but otherwise, the trip to the zoo and back (about a half an hour drive each way) was very pleasant. I have a zoo membership so I get in for free anytime, so I plan to go again soon, especially because two of the other moms purchased memberships as well.

Such a fun trip and beautiful spring weather (in January).

Things I (Thought I) Would Never Do

I’ve heard there is a book titled “I was a really great mother before I had children”. I think this book is about me. Not just because of all the things I used to be judgmental about when it came to raising children, but because of all the things I swore I would never do if I ever had kids that I find myself doing now.

Here is a not-so-short list from this week alone:

1. Change a baby on a table where people eat. I always thought this was gross, but it was only a pee diaper and it was the end of the day and there was nowhere else to do it.

2. Pick my child up every time she whines. Yes, I swore that I was going to let her cry if I knew she was fed, etc. but when she whines, even for attention, I pick her up.

3. Carry my child in a carrier around the house. The other night I made dinner with Fiona in the ERGO. She was cranky and whiney, it was just easier than putting her down and listening to her cry for no apparent reason.

4. Let my child sleep on me. Every single day. It’s how we nap.

5. Buy toy after toy. I haven’t made any toys that she plays with. They all came from a store and have “Made in China” stamped on them somewhere. And almost none of them are made of wood.

6. Buy her toys after I see another baby playing with them at a meet up. Yup, if Little William or Little Lyla has one, Fiona probably will too. For the record though, she has far fewer toys than any of the other babies we know. I felt sort of bad after going to some of the other moms’ houses and seeing how much stuff their babies had. All of Fi’s toys fit into a small square, collapsible cube.

7. Let other children put Fiona’s toys in their mouths and let her play with other children’s toys. I think I’m playing with fire on this one.

8. Let her play with children who are not vaccinated.

9. Compare her growth and development to all the full termers her age. Just not a good idea, but I can’t help it. At least I do it mostly in secret.

10. Wait to sooth her when she cries at night. At bedtime, we sooth her but do not pick her up. This has resulted in Fiona going to sleep with very little protest at the same time every night. This is not to say that we close the door and let her cry it out.

11. Not letting her cry it out. Before Fiona was born I swore I was going to do Babywise. She was going to be scheduled from 2 weeks old. Right now, we have a morning routine and a bedtime routine. She eats when she is hungry. She sleeps when she is tired. I hold her as much as I can.

Well, that turned into something a lot longer than I thought it would. Here are some photos from this week. She is getting sillier and sillier:

 

And those little shoes she’s wearing in the top left picture? She decided they worked better as chew toys so they now live in her toy box. At least they were free.

She Laughed at Me!

The other day I was trying to take a nap with Fiona and she was not having it. She was wiggling and whining, and making all sorts of noise and fussiness. At one point I said, “Fiona, enough! Nap time. Time for quiet,” in a stern voice. She looked up at me, smiled broadly, and laughed! Yes, she thought it was the funniest thing in the world that Mommy was tired and Fiona was refusing to go to sleep. She actually did go to sleep minutes later, but it was still a very silly event.

She also laughed when I played peek-a-boo with her yesterday, and today when we played airplane. She is becoming quite the giggler.

I have no photos because I used them all in the last post. Sorry :(

A Week of Firsts

 

Not milestone firsts, but other firsts.

First taste of pear and sweet potato. She liked both.

Thursday was Fiona’s first trip to the library (no photos, though). They didn’t have the book I wanted, so I ordered it. Then we went to a cupcake bakery in downtown and bought some yummy cupcakes. The carrot cake one was delicious.

Thursday was a first for me too: I went downtown with Fiona, alone, for the first time. I put her in the ERGO and we walked around. She fell asleep eventually. It was very pleasant. At one point, in line at the library, she looked up at me and smiled for no reason. I gave her a big kiss.

Friday we went to the park together and she sat on my legs unassisted. Not in my lap, but on my legs.

Saturday was Fiona’s first “hike”. We got fish tacos at Snapper Jack’s, went to Arroyo Verde Park and sat in the shade and ate them while Fiona enjoyed the breeze in John’s lap, even if she doesn’t look that happy in these photos:

Then we went for a walk on one of the trails. It was like a hike, Fiona’s first:

Here she is sitting in her nursing chair/my bed sometimes:

And here she is sleeping on her grandma again:

I’m not sure why my mom looks yellow in this photo. She’s not really yellow in person.

We had a brief respite from night waking due to teething, but it looks like teething is back with a vengeance. Fiona has been chewing on her fingers and drooling like crazy again, and also whining and crying. Friday was awful. She didn’t even want to nap. The only time she was peaceful was at the park. I wish those teeth would just break through already.

I leave off with photos of her sleeping peacefully in her car seat:

Where’s Fiona?

 

 

Her latest thing is to crawl under her bed. I have no idea why she does it, but she does. She works her way along the bars. It reminds me a little of rock climbing. Those tiny legs next to her belong to Sophie the Giraffe.

Here she is playing with a new toy, the Skwish. True to form, she began by first chewing on it.

Still no teeth, but she has been doing a little better, sleeping more regularly. Most nights last weeks she ate at roughly 11 and 3, as if on a schedule. However, today she started really chewing on her hands again. I think we are in for a long week/month/year until those little choppers break through.

We bought her a bouncer/exersaucer and moved the swing to her room. She seems to like it. We bought it at a consignment store for half of what it would cost new.

John took these photos. He thought it was funny how we were both just sitting there, hanging out. That’s my “I can’t believe my eyes are open” face.

Last, what’s a blog post without a little leg? I’m sorry the photos are fuzzy. John cannot stop moving or bouncing when in front of the camera. Fiona loves investigating her burp clothes, especially those with patterns on them.